Curved glass challenge12th September 2017

Some 21,800sqm of glass, including around 5,000sqm of curved from GUARDIAN GLASS were used in the façade of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, said to be one of the largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world.

Josef Gartner GmbH was responsible for developing the glass façade, comprised of both flat and curved insulating glass units (IGUs) for the windows, as well as triple laminated curved single glazing for the loggias (covered exterior galleries).

One of the challenges was developing the curved glass elements of the façade as, according to Guardian, nobody has ever bent glass panes of that complex 3-D-geometry before.

The next challenge was to maintain the functions of the different coatings of the glass during the manufacturing process. The glazing of the façade consists of a low-E coating, a solar control coating, chrome mirror dots and a ceramic silk-screen pattern. Gartner was concerned that the high temperatures in the bending oven would destroy these layers or adversely affect their performance.

Karl Lindenmaier, Gartner’s Senior Project Manager, said: “We talked with many companies, but Guardian was the only one that could offer a base layer that would guarantee that the sun protection layer maintains its functions during the manufacturing process”, says, at. “In close collaboration with Guardian, we were able to achieve and maintain the customers’ requirements.”

Guardian Glass also worked with the curved glass processor SunGlass Srl. This ensured that the curved glass met the architect’s requirements in terms of performance and aesthetics.

Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, selected as a base glass for the whole façade Guardian ExtraClear float glass for its combination of transparency, aesthetics and performance.

Guardian also supplied its coated solar control glass, SunGuard Solar Light Blue 52. This product provided sufficient stability during the glass bending process. In a standard insulating glass unit, SunGuard Solar Light Blue 52 provides a visible light transmission of 47%. It also has a solar factor of 36%.